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My rabbit has had babies!!!!

Bunnies1

Young Bun
I have two rabbits Dylan and Chloe and last night Chloe had babies! we have no idea what to do. We are just supplying the essentials and letting Chloe (my rabbit) get on with it. I'm scared if we interfear then it might cause her to reject them. Do we ever clean out the nest? I'm guessing no. And when can we handel them? I'm guessing not for a while yet. We'v gave her unlimited water, hay and food. How do i know if sh is looking after them? She's packed out her nest so no one can get in and I haven't seen her near them yet. Any help would be great as these are our first rabbits. :shock::shock::shock:
 
have you taken dad out of the hutch as he can get her preg as soon as she has given birth. you prob wont see her go near babies as they tend to fed at nite or when know one is about, my rabbit had babies 4 weeks ago and i didnt touch them only took a quick peak every morn to check all babies where ok and alive, i didnt clean out the nest till a couple of days ago as flospy didnt go to the loo in it so it was clean, i saw her nestin so moved her into a clean hutch but if you didnt catch intime and it is dirty there are ways you can clean it and the mum not mind as it happened to my friend and she rang the vet for advice ( if this is the case for you let me know and i will tell you wot they told her)
 
i wud say dont worry the mum will sort out the babies, just dont get to many ppl round lookin as it can stress her out i no it will be a scary time for you as it was me but all will be ok :)
 
First off, yes, take the male out straight away and he will have to live somewhere separate until at least 8 weeks after he is neutered.

Rabbits are most receptive to a male in the first 72 hours after giving birth, so if the male and the female were living together when she gave birth, then you face another litter in 31 days time. So be prepared for that.

You need to check the nest and the babies to make sure there are no dead kits in there and no placentas or anything.

You can stroke her first and then look in the nest. If she is a stressy bun maybe try and put a dab of vanilla just abov e her nose so she can't smell you, or ask someone else to feed her treats and food she likes while you rummage in the nest.

It's a myth that rabbits reject their babies. So try not to worry about that. She may not know what to do with them, but that's different from rejecting them.

You will need to check they are being fed, but it may take 24-36 hours for her to do that because it will take a while for her milk to come in and she will be inclined to feed them only once or twice a day. She will do this by standing over them for only about 5 mins and you are unlikely to catch her doing it. She will also, by instant stay away from them unless she is feeding them (especially with her first litter).

To check they are being fed you can look at their bellies. If they look like the swallowed a ping pong ball then they are being fed. If they look shrivelled then they are not being. If they are not being, don't try and supplement them because there are a couple of ways to help her.

Make sure she has unlimited hay, and she needs her food increasing from today onwards.

Don't change the nest right now unless it has been used as a toilet previously. If that is the case get something that the mum can stand in and turn around in (for a small bunny a show box can work well), and make sure it is open at the top and has high enough sides for the kits to not get out, and use it as a nest box. Line the bottow with shavings, then move asn much of the current nest as possible into it, and use additionl hay to try and plump it out a bit.

Has mum plucked fur?

How old is she?
 
They both ahve their own cage, and Dylan was castrated 3 weeks ago so he won't get her pregnant again. They got out together ages ago. Dylan managed to escape when Chloe was out so I think thats when it happened. He isn't near the babies. Thanks evryone for your help :)
 
Ah, ok, accidents happen. At least you don't have to face another litter.

He can't go near her until after the babies have weaned and her milk supply has dried up, although it ight be even better to wait until after she has been spayed and recovered-if you plan to get her done.
 
Chloe is only 5 months and Dylan is the same. I have an indoor cage and she made the nest inside the part that is sectioned off, It looks like it's been made for the rabbit to hide in. So should I give her a box instead? Or is it fine for the babies to be in there? I thought she has made her nest there cause she can protect them. But I don't know how she'll manage to feed them? :?
 
Can she get in the nest? Are you able to check the babies in the house, as it is? or is that going to be a challenge?

She made it there because it felt like the safest place for her to make it, so if you move the nest then you'll need to make sure it is in a covered area in a different kind of way (like so maybe a shoe box inside an upside down cardboard box or something with a solid roof if she likes to jump places-if that makes sense.).
 
dont worry about her gettin in to feed them flopsy did the same i had to get her a cabbage leaf so i had time to left open the nest to check and when i went back she had always tucked them back in tight, as long as you can tell she is feedin them by their tummys your fine, can i just ask my babys are 4 weeks now and flopsy really needs her jabs when is it safe to get her done?
 
can i just ask my babys are 4 weeks now and flopsy really needs her jabs when is it safe to get her done?

I believe one of them is ok to give to nursing mothers but I would really just wait until they are weaned because of all the stress on her body and the risk of what it could do to her milk.

Best wait maybe another 5 weeks or so.
 
That's what I would do if it were my girl, but it might be worth having a chat and clarifying that is ok with your vet.

(just read through and realised I didn't put that in my original post, and I meant to-duh).
 
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